After the NSEL fiasco, this is the second time FMC has issued such a ruling and comes less than a week before the regulator's merger with capital market watchdog Sebi.
The stakeholders of Universal Commodity Exchange Ltd (UCX) -- which has been defunct for over a year -- include state-owned IDBI, REC and NABARD.
Pillai's "conduct through the series of events that led to the irregularities and mis-management of funds at UCX, has certainly eroded his good reputation and character, financial integrity and honesty which has adversely affected his status as a 'fit and proper person' to be a Managing Director and CEO on the board of a regulated exchange," FMC said in the order.
According to the commodity regulator, even prior to his appointment as Managing Director and CEO, Pillai actively associated himself with Ketan Sheth, promoter of UCX, in his misdemeanors, ignoring the conflict of interest he was indulging in at the time of dealing with financial transactions with UCX.
"Praveen Pillai has also failed to comply with the regulatory directives as revealed from the forensic audit report and has grossly failed in managing the affairs of UCX with transparency, fairness and integrity, thereby, prejudicing and threatening the interests of trade and public who participated on its trading platform.